


High Hopes Low...Observation Skills

by Goldstone_Wolf



Series: High Hopes Low (Blank) [16]
Category: Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game), High Hopes Low Rolls (Web Series)
Genre: Blood, Fainting, M/M, Paddark, Violence, bear traps, slightly graphic description of bear trap injury, tws for:
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-03
Updated: 2020-05-03
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:55:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,460
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23975620
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Goldstone_Wolf/pseuds/Goldstone_Wolf
Summary: Paddy really should have been watching where he was going, admittedly. Of course, how was he to know that there were dangerous animals along their current trail? Or even more, that there were TRAPS?In other words, Paddy and Malark go for a walk and our lovely little elf gets stuck in a bear trap.
Relationships: None really but they're pining, Paddark - Relationship
Series: High Hopes Low (Blank) [16]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1692196
Comments: 4
Kudos: 19





	High Hopes Low...Observation Skills

**Author's Note:**

> I know I said that I was going to do a nice little recovery fic, but I just couldn’t resist writing this one and I have a goal to write something every day until my birthday this month. Also, I remember the day when I was reading through the HHLR fics and saw someone noting that there were only twelve fics, and then I decided to write a whole bunch because I’m a little shit and I was obsessed with it (I still am, I just have to do some other stuff because work).   
> Anyways, as always, TWs are in the tags. I know, I suck, I’ll get the fluff fic out soon enough. Don’t worry. This one doesn’t really have a specific time frame, it just takes place.  
> Now, into the fray!

They had just been trying to go for a walk.

Originally, it had just been Paddy and Malark. By some grace of the gods (aka Mama Hashaan deciding Ava needed some fresh air after having been spending two days indoors drinking nonstop), they weren’t. At the moment, their drunken dwarf and Rook were stumbling back towards town, while Malark and Paddy were stuck where they were. Because apparently, it was hunting season in the town they were at. Apparently, there were a lot of bears in the area. And apparently, there were a lot of _other_ dangerous wild animals around.

Of course, Malark and Paddy weren’t in the worst situation they could be in, but this was pretty bad.

“Be honest, Malark. How bad is it?” Paddy gasped out through gritted teeth, trying not to look at his leg. He knew it was caught in a bear trap. He knew because he had felt the jaws clamp shut around his leg when Malark tried shoving him out of the way, having spotted it after Paddy stepped in it. Unfortunately, shoving him had only managed to send them off the cliffside they were walking on, then down to a lower precipice. Now, Malark had Paddy pulled to his chest, holding him close as he tried not to look at the damage.

The assassin glanced down, pale eyes a mix of some emotion. The spot between his eyebrows furrowed a little bit, and Paddy knew then that it was bad. “I wouldn’t say it’s good, but you should be fine, Pads. Don’t worry.” Paddy lifted his head from Malark’s shoulder, trying to get a look. “No, Paddy, don’t—”

Too late.

For a few seconds, all he could do was stare hopelessly at his leg. It hadn’t hurt so much before, but now he could see where the metal teeth had smashed into his leg. His pants were covered in blood. By the time he even processed that, he was gasping, burning pain shooting up his leg. “Oh my—oh my gosh. Mal—Malark—”

“Hey, hey, breathe, you need to breathe, Paddy. It’s okay, everything is going to be fine.” He didn’t miss the hitch in Malark’s voice, and he glanced back. They were still on the precipice, unable to get up. The trap was locked around Paddy’s leg, possibly breaking it, and he couldn’t climb up on his own. He was too heavy for Malark, especially with the trap. “Paddy, look at— _Paddy, look at me.”_

He met the man’s gaze, his own eyes wide and blurring with pained tears. For a few brief moments, neither spoke. They just sat there, too far down from the top cliff to reach up and get themselves up. They were trapped. “You should—you should go, Malark. There’s—you can just—”

Malark’s hands went from his waist to his cheeks, an oddly intimate gesture neither was actually expecting. “You need to shut up right there, Paddy. I’m not leaving you, understand?” When Paddy hesitated, he clutched his face tighter and said, “Paddy, _do you understand_?”

“Y-yes.”

“Good. Now, just…just relax. Everything’s going to be fine, I’m not leaving you. Ava and Rook are going to be back with the others any minute now, okay?” Malark pulled him close again, and Paddy took a few shaky breaths as his back was pressed to the assassin’s chest. They both went silent again, and he looked around.

From where they were sitting, they had a perfect view of the valley below. The trees were crowned with the autumnal, flaming shades of auburn and gold that made them blaze in the sunset. In the distance, purple mountains clawed at the sky, crowned by whispers of clouds. Below them, there was a waterfall that gleamed orange, like the trees and like fire, and a soft breeze blew around them. “You know, despite everything…the view’s not all that bad.” He mumbled, eyes falling closed until Malark shook him again. _Right, stay awake. Just try…to stay awake…_ Blinking, he took a shuddery breath. His leg was still aching, but he wasn’t sure why he was so _tired_ all of a sudden.

“Tell me about it.”

“Malark, you can see it.”

“You need to stay awake, Paddy. Just tell me about it. Tell me about anything.” Paddy swallowed, throat dry, and found himself trying to figure out where to start. After a second, he realised Malark was moving behind him, grabbing a stick and trying to do something with it. “Paddy, you need to stay awake.”

“I know. Hey, did I ever tell you about the time we were trying to protect Gimgar’s village?” The assassin didn’t reply, still working on…whatever it was that he was doing with the stick. “Well, we were trying to chase after this one bad guy. I can’t remember why, though…I think he stole something? Maybe he was a…was a bandit.” Frowning, he stared up at the stars just beginning to appear in the apricot-toned sky above them. When he coughed, something hot and slightly sticky started trailing down his lips, and he weakly reached up to wipe it away. His glove came away smeared with red. “Oh, that’s not good.”

“What’s not good?” Malark must have looked up, as he stiffened behind Paddy. “Don’t worry, Paddy, we’ll get you somewhere safe soon, alright? I’m sure Rook and Ava are just around the bend with Hashaan and Nagar, and then we’ll take you back to the inn. What happened next?” Paddy hummed, confused, and Malark elaborated, “With Gimgar’s village.”

“Oh.” Laughing, he looked back at the clouds. They were so pretty… “Well, we were chasing this guy and fighting all at once. But Gimgar told all the town archers to fire, so every couple minutes while we were chasing this guy, we had to avoid a whole bunch of arrows.”

“Oh, really? That sounds crazy.” There was a snapping sound, and something thwacked Paddy’s leg. Behind him, Malark cursed, then continued doing something with the stick. Paddy didn’t feel like looking down at his leg, though, so he kept his eyes on the sky.

“It was. I mean, no one got hurt, so that was a good thing. We just…” He yawned, trailing off, and then blinked away the wetness in his eyes. Malark shook him gently, and he snapped awake. “Sorry, didn’t realise…my eyes had closed…”

“Paddy, you need to stay awake.” Malark shook him again, but something was already dragging Paddy down. “Paddy? _Paddy_ , come on, you have to wake up!” Dimly, he could hear voices overhead, too weak to even open his eyes. Something was wrong…something had gone really wrong, he knew that much. “Down here! We need…fast!”

Everything went dark for a long, long while.

When he opened his eyes, he was lying on his back on his bed in the inn. Someone (probably Hashaan) had stripped him of his bloodied clothes and placed him in some loose brown trousers and a loose cream shirt. His mask was lying on the bedside table beside him…and Malark was leaning on the bed, sleeping with his arms as a pillow and his head by Paddy’s hip. No one else was in the room, and he had a dim feeling the reason why was because they wanted to give him and Malark some privacy. _Like we’d do anything, he doesn’t even like me that way._ He mused dryly, looking at Malark.

The young man looked peaceful, for someone who had spent a significant amount of the time he’d known him being an assassin. For a split second, Paddy almost ran his hand up into Malark’s hair, but he didn’t. He was stronger than that. Besides, he had no clue if Malark would have wanted that. And he was stronger than that! He was stronger than—

He was not strong.

Really, he didn’t spend more than a few seconds. He just brushed Malark’s bangs away from his eyes and into a more comfortable spot. Sure, maybe Malark’s hair was shockingly soft. But Paddy didn’t do anything else! And if Malark maybe shifted a little bit with a little sound…nope, Paddy didn’t do anything about that, either. Nothing happened! Nope! He did not smile!

When he pulled his hand away, Malark moved and lifted his head with a sleepy sound, and Paddy’s heart did a thing he didn’t want it to but totally loved all at once. Their eyes met for a few seconds, and Paddy grabbed one of Malark’s hands before squeezing it in a “thank you”. He wasn’t sure when exactly they didn’t need words to talk. It had just happened.

Malark’s eyes did the thing they usually did when he smiled, and Paddy returned it.

**Author's Note:**

> So I’m writing another book and the first chapter is thirty-eight pages and I already have several scenes from book five written out. I think I’m a little lost. The part with Gimgar’s village was not my idea, it came from the commentary Alex did during the massive speedpaint he did for the DM’s birthday. Since I couldn’t think of anything for Paddy to talk about, I decided just to have the story there. I don’t know if Malark was around for that, though, which is why his reaction is sort of hidden.   
> Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this, even though it’s kind of hurting our favourite elven trickster.   
> Now, back into the fray!


End file.
